Petrov reveals Alonso fans defaced website

Posted on 25/11/2010

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Vitaly Petrov has revealed that fans of Ferrari and Fernando Alonso littered his official Facebook page with insults and abuse.

"Many people cursed me, saying I had blocked Alonso," admitted the Russian driver.

Petrov played a pivotal role in the outcome of the 2010 world championship when points leader Alonso could not pass him during the final race at Abu Dhabi earlier this month. Alonso was critical at the time and shook his fists at Petrov after the race, but the Russian rookie can’t understand why he has become the villain.

"It's nonsense, I did nothing wrong,” he told Bild. “For 39 laps I was in front of him but no one told me on the radio that I was helping Sebastian be world champion.

“Even if he had [passed], he also had to pass Rosberg. I drove my own race and Ferrari made a tactical error," added Petrov, who dismissed Alonso's post-race gesticulations as "bad manners".

Alonso's failure to pass Petrov meant that Sebastian Vettel was able to close a big points margin to the Spaniard and secure the 2010 title. "He deserves it," Petrov said, referring to Vettel. "The newspapers said it was a miracle, but it was his hard work."

Bild asked Petrov if the new world champion had congratulated him personally for his role in the title outcome. "He doesn't have my phone number," answered the Russian. "But I saw that he wrote on his website to his fans that he was grateful to me."